People often ask why I started spinning. Most people just don’t get it..but that’s ok with me. When I learned to knit, people would often comment on the color of the yarn, and I felt a little like an artist being told that he/she paints by numbers. Natch, that made me want to spin my own yarn.

Well now, that’s not enough. And..surprise..it’s not actually cheaper to spin yarn. Roving is expensive, then there’s the wheel and the time…so..

Natch, that makes me want to go straight to the source. I’ve always been intimidated by the idea of washing a fleece (and then there’s the fact that we live in a teeny two bedroom condo). But today….drumroll….my first fleece arrived!!

Oh wait. It looked more like this:

And then the first wash:

I quickly realized the bathtub was not going to work for me. But it’s only 2.4 lbs, so I moved to here:

And it’s really coming along! Two bonuses did I not expect. 1) it doesn’t stink. 2) lanolin feels great on my hands.

Happy camper.
Stay tuned for Part 2, AKA:
Please don’t felt
Please don’t felt
Please don’t felt